TNG:TCF- Double
by CharlieGreene
Summary: Everything gets complicated when Charlotte rescues her mirror self from her old universe. With two Charlottes on the same ship, nothing will ever be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, sorry for the wait. I decided not bother with Insurrection. This story is set a few days before Will and Deanna's wedding.**

**And PLEASE REVIEW! Whether you like it or not, i wanna hear it!**

**I own nothing but Charlotte... both of them.**

* * *

"I'm so excited for Deanna."

Charlotte and Geordie were walking down the corridor, towards Charlotte's quarters.

"I must admit, I never really expected something like this to happen. They were always really good friends, but it never went further than that."

"Well, D didn't tell me much but from what I gathered, she and Commander Riker got pretty close during that thing with the Baku."

Geordie grinned. "I was fortunate enough to take him out for a drink, and from what he says, it was more than pretty close."

They reached the door and Charlotte keyed in her code. "Thanks for walking me. I'll just get the spanner."

Geordie waited at the door. "What did you use it for?" he called.

"A secret project," came her voice from the other room. "And don't ask any more questions, cuz I'm not telling you any more." She reappeared spanner-less and began rifling through the PADDs of various shapes and sizes on her coffee table.

"Not even if I order you to?" Geordie teased.

She pouted. "You wouldn't pull rank on a friend, would you?" She growled at not finding anything on the table and peered under the couch. "Where is that- Oh, there it is." She pulled out the spanner triumphantly and chucked it in Geordie's direction. "One Hyperspanner for you, sir."

Geordie deftly caught it. "Thanks." He frowned at the sudden change on her face. "What's wrong?"

She sniffed the air, mirroring his frown. "Can you smell something?"

He sniffed too. "Not really… actually, yes, I do smell something. What is it?"

Charlotte turned towards her bedroom. "It smells like… smoke. Yes, it's definitely smoke."

"Where's it coming from? And why hasn't the ship put it out yet?"

"I don't-"

A tinny but familiar voice wafted through the air. "30 seconds to self-destruct."

Charlotte went pale. "Oh, no." Turning on her heel, she leapt through the doorway into her bedroom and into… nothing. Geordie stared. Where she had disappeared, _something _glittered in the air like ripples in a small pool. He could see tendrils of smoke appearing from this pool, as if from thin air. Changing the settings on his implants revealed more baffling finds. He tapped his badge dazedly. "LaForge to Captain Picard."

"Yes, Geordie?"

"You better come down here, sir."

Charlotte dropped to the ground, coughing. She had already established that C2 wasn't here- the rooms were completely empty. _If the self-destruct was on, everyone would've left the ship, right_? Somehow, she wasn't so sure.

"Computer, locate Charlotte Hope."

"Lieutenant Charlotte Hope is in Sickbay. 20 seconds to self-destruct."

Sickbay! Charlotte screwed her eyes shut; knowing the only way would be to use her powers. Slowly, her body began to change until it was nothing more than a fine mist floating in the air. In this form, thought and direction was difficult, but thankfully she'd drunk enough Kava juice that morning to help herself along.

She could go faster this way, passing fallen rubble without having to climb over it. In no time at all she had reached sickbay. Rematerializing, she spied a figure on the floor between two bio-beds.

"Charlotte!" she hissed, shaking her double's helpless form. "Wake up, girl. Come on, we need to get out of here!"

C2 groaned and immediately began to cough. She clutched the object she was holding tighter and tried to curl into a ball.

Charlotte dragged her up to a sitting position, as the computer warned them "10 seconds to self-destruct."

"We've got to hurry." Charlotte grabbed a hypospray from the discarded bench and injected it into C2's neck, hopping it was a stimulant and not a sedative. C2's eyes popped open, and she coughed again. "What's-"

"Never mind- you have to change now. Quickly! We have to get out of here."

C2 nodded and her skin became translucent. Soon, both of them were nothing but mist. They flew through the ship at top speed and slipped under the door. The ship was shaking more now, and once they materialized, Charlotte pushed C2 towards the corner of the room…

The ship exploded.

* * *

As Captain Picard entered the room with Worf, Geordie was thrown back by a muffled explosion that threw bits and pieces of _something_ into the room and made a terrific wind. When he opened his eyes again, he looked up at Picard and Worf from his new position on the floor to find them staring at the corner of the room. He followed their gaze and his jaw dropped. There, on the floor, surrounded by bits of bulkhead and other mysterious objects, was Charlotte… and Charlotte.


	2. Chapter 2

"Her lungs suffered a lot of damage from smoke inhalation, and she had second-degree burns on her arms and face. Plus she had a nasty bruise on her forehead, but she'll be fine. She just needs to rest."

"And is she who we think she is?"

Doctor Crusher glanced over at the two girls, one sleeping in a bio-bed and the other standing protectively by her side. "I did a full DNA scan. She is most definitely Charlotte Hope."

"Right." Picard straightened his uniform and looked grim. "It's time to get some answers."

Charlotte- the one standing up- didn't look up as they approached; instead anxiously watching her double's still-slightly-sooty face. "How is she, Doctor?"

"She's going to be just fine," Bev answered soothingly. "But it would help if we knew who she really is."

"Lieutenant, you seem to understand more than anyone else what is going on here. I presume you have an explanation for all…" he gestured to the sleeping girl, "this?"

Charlotte sighed. "I do, but it's a long and complicated story. I might need some help telling it. And… Data should be here. This is something that he should hear as soon as possible."

Picard tapped his badge. "Commander Data to sickbay."

"On my way, sir."

Bev held up a hypospray. "I think it's safe to wake her."

The stimulant went in, and the girl on the bed opened her eyes and tried to sit up.

"Take it easy," Charlotte said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You're safe now. You're home."

"The other ship…" C2 started, voice raspy.

"Gone." Charlotte's eyes filled with tears. "It's all gone." Her voice changed to angry relief. "But what the heck were you doing in Sickbay? I could've lost you!" And Charlotte embraced her double, clinging tightly to her. "You gave me such a scare!"

Sickbay doors opened, and Data walked in. "You wanted to see me, Cap-" He froze at the sight of the two identical white heads that separated at the sound of his voice; the two identical faces that looked at him with completely different expressions- the one on the bed with joy and the other with sadness. And his positronic brain came closer than it ever had to complete and utter confusion.

"Now listen up, everyone," said the 'sad one', separating herself from the other and beckoning him over. "We're going to tell you all a story. It's going to sound strange and impossible and insanely complicated, and we might get in trouble for keeping it a secret, but it's something we should've told a long time ago." She looked at each of them gravely. "The first thing I have to say is sorry for deceiving you, because I'm not who you think I am."

She turned to Crusher. "Do you remember…?"

* * *

Much later, C2 rang the bell to a room that she hadn't entered in a long time. The doors hissed open, and she walked in timidly, not knowing how she would be received.

Data sat at his console, whatever work he was supposed to be doing abandoned, mechanically stroking the cat on his lap as he devoted most of his attention to the recent problem that had first arisen in Sickbay.

He had tried his hardest with logic, but the situation wasn't logical in any way. The emotion ship had now been activated to help with the analysis.

It was a complicated situation, he decided, and one to be treated with caution. Perhaps it would be best if everyone took a step back from relationships for the time being…

C2 crept over to the couch and contemplated the man she loved, wondering how he was taking it all. Their relationships- hers and Charlie's, Charlie's and Data's, and now hers and Data's- were all going to have a marked change now…

Data looked over at her. "Charlotte… er… which one are you?"

"The original," C2 answered with a humourless laugh. "I mean, from this universe. I belong here."

"And the second Charlotte? Where is she?"

"In our quarters. Hiding, I think."

"Why?"

"She's afraid- afraid of you, afraid of what's going to happen to her… us… this whole situation. Frankly so am I, but I had to come and talk to you." He didn't look like he was going to say anything, she so continued on. "I missed you terribly, you know. It hurt to be away from you for so long, especially with everyone in such a bad mood because… Anyway, I'm glad to be back where I belong, with people I know and love." She stood up and approached him slowly. "But I realise that this is a complicated situation and that you're going to need time to get used to it. We all will. I just want you to know that that girl whose been living here, that girl who you thought was me… she is me. And I am her. And we both love you- always have, always will." And with that, she stroked his head, kissed it, and left.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a while before he made his decision, and he lost no time in getting to his destination. He pressed the button and waited for the door to open.

Charlotte opened the door herself and was startled when she saw who it was. "C-Come in," she stammered, stepping away as her face tried to decide what colour to be. It finally settled on the usual red, and Charlotte skipped nervously over to the replicator. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No thank you, I came to talk to you."

She replicated a Vietnamese coffee, feeling that she needed something strong. "Shoot!" she said with forced cheerfulness.

Data examined her, noticing that she was no longer in uniform and that her face indicated that she was highly uncomfortable despite her cheerful tone. He decided to launch right in. "Why did you not tell me of your arrangement?"

"Would I have gained anything from it? Would the ship? Would you?" He thought for a moment, then seemed on the verge of speaking before Charlotte cut him off. "I'll answer that- NO. The gap between universes was in no way a threat to the ship or crew. The news would've resulted in examinations of the gap, trips would've been made to both sides, great debates over the safety and security of the universes would take place, and we might've had a little extra time to work things out. Eventually, we would be forced to go back to our own respective universes, which might not kill me but it would definitely be the death of her."

"Why?"

She stared at him. "You don't know?"

Data shook his head.

Charlotte sighed. "She only has enough medicine to last a week. After that runs out, she'll either have to be sedated for a few years while they try to develop the cure for Irademia, or… die." This last word was said in a horrified whisper, as if the prospect was too terrible to entertain. Which, in all fairness, it was.

Data took in everything that she had told him and thought back to the conversation he had had with the other Charlotte. _I realise that this is a complicated situation and that you're going to need time to get used to it. _"But there is no time," he whispered. He looked back at the girl opposite him. "It is possible that you will be court-marshalled, or even stripped of rank for keeping what could be considered a vital piece of information secret."

Charlotte snorted. "By who? I'm not of this universe, so this universe can't punish me. My old universe is gone; the explosion closed the gap for good. I was wearing a borrowed uniform, working in a borrowed job. But Lieutenant jg Charlotte Hope, Science officer doesn't exist now. _My_ Starfleet is gone, my rank is gone, so who is there to make the charges? I am now a civilian. How can they court-marshal me when I don't have a rank?"

Data nodded and got up, unable to find a thing to say.

"Oh, must you?"

He nodded stiffly. "I believe it is best."

Charlotte smiled sadly, knowing that it wasn't just leaving her quarters that he was talking about. And he was right. They all needed time apart. "I suppose so."

Data let himself out, and C2 emerged from the bedroom. Having heard the whole conversation, she sat down beside her double and put her arms around her in an awkward hug. Charlotte leaned into her, and both wept.

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**Thanks for reading. I was going to write a fourth chapter but decided against it, simply because i don't think it would be interesting enough. Look out for Nemesis in a day or two. And please, i'm begging you, rate and review. If i don't get enough reviews i might have to think about quitting. Which i really don't wanna do, because 1) i like writing and 2) i need somewhere to store my stories. So REVIEW! There's cookies :)**


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